Adiposity and Cardiovascular Risk Factor Variables in Childhood Are Associated With Premature Death From Coronary Heart Disease in Adults: The Bogalusa Heart Study

Background: More than 600 deaths of all causes have been documented over the 40-year duration of the Bogalusa Heart Study. Of these, 97 deaths have been related to cardiovascular events, based on obituaries published in local newspapers, death certificates obtained from the State Health Department, information from the coroner and word of mouth by nursing staff from the community. Methods: This study was a retrospective longitudinal cohort with several observations of each subject. It consisted of 6 cross-sectional surveys of children aged 5-7 years, conducted between 1973 and 1988, and 4 cross-sectional surveys of previously examined subjects as young adults extending into middle age, conducted between 1988 and 2010. Results: Excluding pulmonary, congenital and noncoronary cardiovascular diseases, 46 deaths (average age at death = 44.7 years, range: 31-55) were considered to have been related to coronary artery disease, that is, myocardial infarction. Cardiovascular risk factor observations, gathered from multiple surveys (average of 4.4 surveys, range: 1-14) since childhood, indicated that body fatness and elevated blood pressure beginning in childhood were more common in subjects who later died of coronary artery disease than in living subjects. Conclusions: The present findings emphasize that sub-clinical cardiovascular disease begins early in life and that early prevention is vital.